Ottawa police and firefighters pulled the body of a man out of the Ottawa River just off Petrie Island yesterday afternoon after a truck fell through the ice while trying to tow a fishing hut Monday.

Earlier yesterday, police, paramedics and the fire department jointly issued a warning for people to stay off the ice.

The incident occurred just after 7:30 p.m. Monday, when several people were using a truck to remove a fishing hut less than a kilometre off Petrie Island. The vehicle broke through the ice, police said yesterday.

The driver of the vehicle, who police said was a 45-year-old man, went down with the vehicle and was presumed drowned.

This is the second time in just more than a week that a person has died when their vehicle went through the ice. Last week, 37-year-old Orleans resident Rachel Taylor was killed after the truck she and her boyfriend were driving in fell through the ice near Aylmer Island.

“The ice is unstable and unpredictable at this time of year,” said Ottawa police Const. Alain Boucher. “You’re risking your life to go onto the ice.”

The truck will remain in the water until a time that it can be removed safely.